Via Liz Young, we learn: Job openings rose 572k to 11 million, driven by: Accommodation and Food Services +409k, Wholesale & Retail +207k, and Construction +82k...areas where the structural shortage of workers persists. Other sectors saw -126k. #CoSoFinance

There were 1.9 job openings per unemployed worker in December, the tightest month in the labor market since July - and almost double the pre-pandemic average. The U.S. Federal Reserve HATES the fact that more Americans have jobs. They consider it inflationary. #CoSoFinance #CoSoEconomics

Did you know that real gross domestic product has risen 6.7% under President Biden, that America gained 4.5 million jobs in 2022 and that while inflation surged temporarily, annualized CPI fell from 9.1% to 6.5% in the past few months? If your primary information source is FOX News, you don't know these things. #ThingsFOXWontTellYou #CoSoFinance #CoSoEconomics

Remember when Republicans blamed Joe Biden for inflation? And the media went along with it like the MAGAts weren't blowing smoke out their asses? Good times, good times. Anyway, if inflation was Biden's fault, I guess now Republicans will be saying, "thanks, Joe Biden."

Exxon is very profitable *cough* profiteering *cough* #CoSoFinance

forecasts of future oil demand vary wildly. #CoSoFinance

The Fed has suppressed inflation expectations; the Covid distortions to rents and margins are working through and will drive inflation down; and the labor market is re-normalizing without a surge in unemployment. But will Fed Chair Jerome Powell accept his victory? #CoSoFinance

Earlier, I posted that Dutch semiconductor equipment company #ACLS spilled the beans that the U.S. and Netherlands are stopping sales of chip manufacturing equipment to China. Now, China is responding w/ its own technology ban. #CoSoFinance #ChipWars https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-26/china-mulls-protecting-solar-tech-dominance-with-export-ban

Weekly chart shows West Texas Intermediate #Crude #oil tried to break out, and failed. First attempts usually do not work. let's see what February brings. #CoSoFinance

Weekly #Silver had a tougher week than #gold, but that's not too surprising as silver is the drama queen of precious metals. Look for a retest of the breakout.
#CoSoFinance

Weekly #platinum broke its uptrend and ran out of bullish momentum. It's in balance now; we'll have to see what next week brings. Sideways action is more likely, but let's see the fallout from 3 central banks meeting. #CoSoFinance

Weekly #Gold still looks bullish, but the balance shown in last week's candle indicates we may see a retest of the breakout before another attempt at moving higher.
#CoSoFinance

Copper had a setback on Friday; it barely registers on a weekly chart, which is still bullish. #CoSoFinance

On this chart, the blue line is job openings (in thousands) and the yellow line is unemployed, also in thousands. Still nearly two jobs for every person seeking work. Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4573347-the-labor-market-is-still-historically-tight #CoSoFinance #CoSoEconomics

China's net imports of refined copper totalled 3.64 million metric tonnes last year, up almost 300,000 tonnes on 2021 and 2nd highest after record-breaking 2020. The mystery is where all this metal went since visible inventories within China remain historically low. #CoSoFinance https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/while-dr-copper-waits-china-china-buys-more-copper-2023-01-27/

I know I'm harping on inflation, but this is really good news. Over the past three months, we've see Consumer Price Index (CPI) core inflation cut by half, from 6-7% to 3%-3.5%, while the economy added over 700,000 jobs.

The disinflation was exactly what and where a soft landing predicted; the Fed should let these positive developments continue. #CoSoFinance #CoSoEconomics

Chart from Mike Konczal: The Fed is flagging core services ex housing as their indicator ffor watching potential inflation from labor markets - as compared between CPI and PCE.

CPI flattened out hard; PCE is still more elevated, but also has shown a decline this month. So, if the Fed isn't moving the goal posts, there should be an end to Fed rate hikes sooner than later. That's a big "If". #CoSoFinance

Annualized December personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation (the Fed's preferred measure) fell as expected, dropping to 5% headline and 4.4% core year-over-year. There are multiple ways to measure inflation, as this article explains #CoSoFinance https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-inflation-rate-slows-again-to-15-month-low-pce-shows-11674826498

U.S. coal consumption hovering near 6-decade lows. #CoSoFinance #CoSoEnvironment

@LizAnnSonders of Charles Schwab reports that weakening U.S. dollar and associated easing of financial conditions have helped int’l equity markets outperform those in U.S., with S&P Developed Ex-U.S. BMI outperforming its U.S. counterpart by 15% since dollar peaked in September 2022 #CoSoFinance